On The Water magazine celebrated the end of its five-month-long Striper Cup fishing tournament at Striper Fest, held Saturday, September 29 at Marine Park on Falmouth Harbor, MA. Over 4,000 people attended the event and thousands of fishermen from New Jersey to Maine participated in the competition. It was a Rhode Island fisherman who claimed "Striper of the Year" honors. Barry Centracchio of Narragansett, Rhode Island weighed in the largest striped bass in the tournament and was awarded a replica of his 58.80-pound fish on stage at StriperFest.

Team winners were determined by the total weight of the 10 heaviest bass a team catches over the duration of the season, with a multiplier of 1.18 applied to shore-caught fish. Rhode Island's Aquidneck Island Striper Team placed second, with a total score of 525.30 in the Team event.

Attorney General files suit to stop landowners from blocking shoreline

It was 18 months ago that the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) received a complaint from anglers. Some landowners along the two mile stretch of shoreline between the Quonny Breachway and the Westerly Town beach, along Atlantic Avenue, were blocking lateral access along the shore.

Landowners erected fences and would call the police when citizens dared to stop in front of "their private beach."

RISAA hired an attorney and then a land surveyor, who worked with a special assistant to the Attorney General and found multiple landowners in probable violation. Last month, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin brought an action in Superior Court seeking to enforce the public's right to enjoy the nearly two-mile section of the Misquamicut beachfront. In particular, the action seeks to enjoin specific beachfront lot owners from interfering with the public's right to use this dry sand area, alleging that this strand was dedicated to the public by a recorded 1909 plat. Steve Medeiros, president of RISAA said, "We're grateful that he (Attorney General Kilmartin) has been willing to assist us, and now take over this case. It should send a signal that the shoreline of Rhode Island belongs to everyone."

Rhody Fly Rodders scheduled to meet October 16

The start of the Rhody Fly Rodders' fall and winter meetings and the date of their annual cookout is Tuesday, October 16th at 6:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend. Hot dogs and burgers at 6:00 p.m. followed by a short DVD on Steelhead Fishing by Jim Teeny, then the rest of the evening will feature fly tying and conversation. The meeting will take place at the Riverside Sportsmen's Club, East Providence, RI. For information and directions, contact board member Peter Nilsen at pdfish@fullchannel.net .

How to identify bonito and false albacore

Bonito and false albacore are being caught in large numbers all along southern Rhode Island coastal shores, however, it is often difficult for anglers to tell them apart. Steve Medeiros, president of RISAA said, "There are obvious differences… I learned (the difference between the two) with a simple rhyme. Bonito have teeth and are good to eat. False albacore have no teeth and are no good to eat. Atlantic bonito (aka bonito) have solid lines along upper half running head to tail, and teeth. False albacore (aka falsies or little tunny) have broken/squiggly lines, spots below lateral line, and no teeth. Hope this helps."

ASMFC to hold public hearing on Atlantic menhaden management plan on November 1

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board has released Draft Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden for public review and comment. The Draft Amendment presents a suite of options to manage and monitor the stock in both the short and long-term. Fishermen and interested parties are asked to participate in local hearings and voice their opinions about options presented. If you fish RI coastal waters, offshore or in Narragansett Bay, now is the time to voice your concerns about this important food source for all types of fish species.

Menhaden also serve as roving filters, converting algae into energy and thus reducing nutrient loads in bays and covers. An adult menhaden, through its unique filtering gills, is able to process up to 4 gallons of water per minute or a million gallons of water every 180 days. Multiply this by the number of menhaden in any given area and this is an amazing amount of water being filtered, a reduction of nutrients means fewer algae blooms and ultimately more oxygen for all fish.

The ASMFC Public Hearing in Rhode Island on Draft Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden will take place November 1, 6:00 p.m. at the University of Rhode Island Bay Campus, Corless Auditorium, South Ferry Road, Narragansett Rhode Island. Contact Jason McNamee at 401.423.1943 for more information.

Where's the bite

Striped bass. "Striped bass and bluefish are in the Providence River, actually all the way up the Seekonk River." Said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence. Striped bass to 30" are being caught in Apponaug Cover said Ken Landry of Ray's Bait & tackle, Warwick, RI. There are also schools of bass and blues out in front of the lower Bay off Newport, Jamestown and Pt. Judith. They keep moving and are popping up in different places." Angler Mike Swain of Coventry said, "There is a lot of bait in the Bay… small menhaden and a lot of mullet (or as Mike calls them… striper candy) that we have been using as bait for striped at night live lining them." Angler Matt Boliver reports on the RISAA blog, "I had fun with schoolies way up inside Wickford on Sunday. They were very aggressive in shallow water mid day."

Offshore. Jim Otis of Half & Half Charters, South Kingstown landed an 85 pound yellow fin said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle when fishing two miles south of the Fishtales. He also boated a number of three to four foot mahi mahi using butter fish as bait on the same trip. "The vessel Aerie One did well at the Fishtails this week" said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina in South Kingstown. "They caught nine yellowfin to 70 pounds trolling during the day and chucking butter fish at night." said Conti.

Tautog. Ken Landry of Ray's Bait & Tackle Warwick said, "Customers are catching tautog at Hope Island, General Rock and At Coddington Cove in Middletown. I am sure they are further north in the Bay too." Capt. Chuck Daignault landed tautog to 21" while fishing on my boat this weekend at General Rock, North Kingstown. Beavertail his been a great spot for fishing this fall too, said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.

False albacore and bonito. False Albacore are still running strong all along the southern coastal shore said Matt Conti of Snug Harbor. Some bonito were caught last week when customers were trolling for tuna said Conti.

Captain Dave Monti has been fishing and shell fishing on Narragansett Bay for over 40 years. He holds a captain's master license, a charter fishing license, and is a member of the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council. Your fishing photos in JPEG from, stories, comments and questions are welcome… there's more than one way to catch a fish. Visit Captain Dave's No Fluke website at www.noflukefishing.com; his blog at www.noflukefishing.blogspot.com or e-mail him at dmontifish@verizon.net.